Ntsl chairman Brian Taylor says local league cricket is facing a crisis with the number of umpires dwindling.

The NTSL currently has 44 umpires on its books but Taylor, who is an umpire himself, says fewer and fewer cricketers are donning the white coat after finishing their playing careers.

He said: "There is a real problem coming up because of the lack of umpires.

"It is getting to the stage that some second team fixtures are taking place with just one - or in some very limited cases, none - in attendance.

"We have 44 umpires, of which around 30 are able to take charge of games on a regular basis, and we need more.

"Basically, the umpires we have are getting older and there are very few younger people coming into this side of the game to take their place.

"When you talk to senior players, many of them finish altogether when they stop playing and they are not really interested in umpiring.

"There is a local leagues meeting planned at the end of the season to discuss ways of encouraging more people to take up umpiring to stop this situation turning into a full-blown crisis. It is not just a problem in cricket - I know that in football, for example, they have found it harder to recruit the next generation of referees for similar reasons.

"Football has gone some way towards tackling this problem and cricket needs to do the same."

In Division A1, leaders Lanchester take on Ashington tomorrow hoping to retain their edge over second-placed Newcastle City.

Ashington beat third-placed Tynedale last weekend and have won their last three on the spin.

City will be aiming to bounce back from their defeat against Shotley Bridge as they take on Tynedale, who are just 14 points behind them.